Goblin Valley State Park, Utah

Entry sign

Click on the map for a larger view.

Goblin Valley is another one of those almost one-offs of nature, where
conditions are just right to form hundreds of these small to medium sandstone formations.
The guy who discovered the valley called 'em Goblins, so the name stuck, but
I was more reminded of mushrooms, and Jo thought of...poop. Well, maybe it's
because she doesn't like mushrooms.

Goblin Valley does have a claim to fame, it was featured in the movie, "Galaxy Quest",
the place where the crew goes to get the Beryllium Sphere and comes up against the
rock creature. I didn't see any aliens when I was there. But you never know, there
are a lot of places to hide...

More recently, two scout masters decided one of the rocks was precariously
balanced, and pushed it over declaring they had improved public safety,
posted it to Facebook, and were deservedly arrested and prosecuted for being
outstandingly stupid.

Other than that, it's said that Goblin Valley is one of the most lightless
places in the US (and by that, I mean it is far from any light pollution
like streetlights), and is supposed to be amazing at night. The day I was
at Goblin Valley, however, I spent the night in a very nice hotel room in
Torrey looking at a full moon, which killed any chance of real star gazing...

Interestingly, I knew this place existed in 1997 when I first drove Utah-24,
but Temple Mount Road (the access road to Goblin Valley) was unpaved. The road was
nicely paved in 2008 when I visited the park, and it's said that the money the park
got from allowing Galaxy Quest to be filmed there, went to paving the road.
Good deal...
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Utah State Route 24 was the southern detour around the
San Rafael Swell for 35 years before I-70 opened through the wilderness.

Today, it's still the way to get to Goblin Valley State Park, Capitol Reef National Park
and the Waterpocket Fold. It is also one of the endpoints of Utah-12, a road everyone
should drive at least once...